Ian Stewart needs to stop being a pussy over Gun World Billboard

The ABC couldn’t help stirring up some faux outrage over the latest Gun World Billboard:“A handgun for Christmas? That is what one store is promoting along a busy Brisbane road in the lead up to the festive season.

A new billboard on Loganlea Road advertising a local gun store shows a pistol in Christmas wrapping with the heading: “What’s under your tree this year?”

Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said the ad was sending the wrong message to the community and should be removed.

“I would like to see the billboard taken down,” he told ABC Radio Brisbane’s Craig Zonca and Rebecca Levingston. “I don’t think it’s necessary. People who use firearms for their sport or work know where to go to purchase guns and I don’t think we need that type of advertising. “The message that sends to me and to most people in the community would be quite abhorrent and against everything what’s really good about Australia.”

Ridiculous comments from Stewart.

How is advertising a legal product to customers abhorrent? What about people who don’t know where to purchase firearms and are just getting into the sport?

If there’s anything that’s not necessary it’s politicised, public, uninformed comment from a Police Commissioner that is out of his depth. Queensland Police don’t exactly have the best record when it comes to handguns.

It’s been said before but needs to be said again, it’s a legal business selling legal products using their own money – a complete non-issue. When’s Stewart going to start lecturing the public on alcohol advertising?

This isn’t the first time Gun World have been under attack from the media and it won’t be the last. The “complaints” are likely from Queensland Labor associates other than the usual Helen Lovejoy’s that inhabit the ABC Facebook page.

Make no mistake, this is also the hand of Leanne Enoch and Jackie Trad and their infinite saltiness at the Flick’Em campaign at the last Queensland election. Enoch infamously tried to have the billboards taken down last year while she was Minister for Small Business, but failed and no longer has the portfolio.

Have another soy latte and a lie down, Ian. I’m sure you have better things to do, like practice for your annual requalification shoot.

I’m sure Gun World could give you a few pointers on that, or maybe even a new handgun.

9 Comments

Thanks Mr Stewart, you’ve just made me check the Gunworld website to see if the P320 X-5 I’ll be buying can be bought from Gunworld, (they don’t have it listed, so I’ll email them re a price and availability), still before your disgraceful little tantrum Gunworld wasn’t even on my radar, now they are bookmarked in my “gunshops” folder.

BTW Mr Stewart, it might be time for you to give some thought as to just how odious it is to have a public servant who dares lecture those who pay him on what totally legal things they can and cannot do.

In wiser times I suspect you’d have been sacked for exceeding your remit in such an egregious fashion and if you had any decency, you’d apologise and resign.

Unfortunately any crazy could buy a gun. Wonder how you would feel if it was one of your family on the recieving end whrn one of them shoots up a mall. Stats dont lie. Australia is so safe compared to the US and we’d like to keep it that way. Good on the cops. The billboard should come down. It is inappropriate for young children.
Shame on Hinch for aiding and abetting and doing deals.

Stats don’t lie anonymous, in the 16 years after the 1996 guns laws were introduced firearm homicide rates in Aust declined by 50%, in the 16 years prior to the 1996 guns laws being introduced firearm homicide rates in Aust declined by 50%, so the rate of decline was not changed one iota by the laws.

Since then, the number of firearms (legal) in the community has passed the number that were in the community in 1996, if removing firearms from the community lowered firearm homicide rates, we’d now be back above the 1996 rate, and we are not.

So, 2 quick statistical data points proving that firearms in the community are not a problem.

What a joke, I have considered joining a local pistal range as a hobby a few times over the 20 years or more but every time I look at the requirements of mandatory club membership, numerous safety related training days, ongoing attendance at their club, police surveillance of your storage facilities etc etc, I just give up. It’s all too hard to bother with. It’s a feel shame because it’s a great sport. The guys who are licensed gun owners are law adiding citizens who I trust 100% because I know what they go through to maintain their shooting license. I wish I could have a nice pistal under my Christmas tree but I know I am going to have some boring aftershave.

Well anon, the reason the requirements are such a pain in the proverbial is to discourage law abiding citizens from taking up the sport, the question for you is are you going to let them discourage you?

Remember most of the painful BS is a one off – the safety course is about 8 hrs, most clubs will do a bit of training and eyeball you before they will sign a permit to aquire, the storage inspection is a one off and generally squeezing in 6 competitive shoots a year is no problem.

Im not a cop or a politician and I agree entirely. Get rid of the sign, we don’t need that crap in our comminity. Nor do we need the typical gung ho meatheads that use them. (If they are for your job, then fine) One country with major gun issues in this world is more than enough.

It’s funny how call it “our” community and then move on to exclude and denigrate people who don’t believe exactly what you do, you also say it is OK to have guns if they are being used to protect you, but I can’t own guns to protect me.
I live in a rural area and my nearest police station is 15 minutes (using lights and sirens) away, as an exercise go to the gym and go hammer and tongs, as hard as you can (as if you were fighting for your life) for 15 minutes, you can’t do it. let alone if the attacker is a meth fueled loon with an axe, hammer or knife.
Now lets be clear, for a rural resident I am practically next door to the police station (many live hours from the nearest police in Australia).
Now lets look at urban dwellers, Ms Dixon was raped and murdered in Melbourne, as was Ms Meagher as two quick examples, one was a comedian, the other a journalist, so under your rules (only have a gun for your job), they had to remain defenceless and the people who are allowed to have guns, the police, were not there to protect them, so they died a humiliating, painful and lonely death.
Are you OK with that? are they just a cost of doing business and no need to change? would you still be OK with it if it were your wife, girlfriend, mother or daughter – because the two women above were somebodies wife, girlfriend or daughter.

Well men like me served to give people the freedom of firearms n enjoy em for sport and self defence. If anyone don’t like it don’t own one. If u hate people who do enjoy the freedom. Then hand in yrs on the way out. Governments should be fearful of its people. Maybe then we will see real change.

Social Media

Firearm Owners United

Firearm Owners United was founded in response to the many hysterical voices crying out for further gun control in this country.
We already go through so many hoops to get our firearms as it is. We do not need more hoops. We don’t need a mother/father figure deciding what’s the best for us.
We are Law Abiding Firearm Owners, and we are sick of being treated like second-class citizens.